The
reader of 1 Samuel might think that the tearful and tragic farewell of Jonathan
and David in 1 Sam 20:41-42 marked the end of their relationship – but,
in fact, it didn’t. Later, Jonathan appears again, in 23:16-18, making
a surprise visit to David hiding in the wilderness. Before turning to look
at this remarkable reunion, however, it will be helpful to summarize what
happened to poor David after he left Jonathan and the capital city of Gibeah.

David
on the run – David first headed for Nob (a town ca. 3 miles SE of
Gibeah), where there was a sanctuary and a community of priests; and here
he picked up some food and Goliath’s sword (21:1-9). His asking for
and being given five loaves of holy bread from the tabernacle is another example
of how life in Israel often varied from the law of Moses, since bread that
was displayed before the Lord was only to be eaten by the priests (Lev 24:5-9,
Mark 2:25-26). Moreover, David, in desperation and in a hurry, lies to Ahimelech
the priest, telling him that he is on a secret royal mission, although he
is not; and furthermore he is not on his way to meet other men, as he claims,
who have pledged themselves to chastity. Still Hans Hertzberg believes that
it may be significant that David begins his flight from “the sphere
of the holy,” from the sanctuary and God’s presence,1
in spite of his woeful faithlessness and falsehood. David then flees to Gath
(a Philistine city ca. 40 miles SW); but feeling very unwelcome and unsafe
there, he acts like a madman and so is able to escape unharmed (21:10-15).
He then retraces his steps NE (ca. 24 miles), to hide in the Cave of Adullam
near the old Canaanite city by that name (and ca. 12 miles W of his hometown
of Bethlehem).2 Here family members join him, along
with some 400 men in distress, in debt, or discontented, who lodge in limestone
caves scattered throughout the area (22:1-2). David decides to relocate his
family to Moab (E of the Dead Sea); however, the prophet Gad then instructs
David to return with his men to Judah, which he does (22:3-5). Meanwhile,
Saul, hearing how Ahimelech had helped David, slaughters all of the 86 priests
at Nob (except for one who escapes), including their families and animals
(22:6-19). Abiathar, the sole survivor, joins David, bringing with him the
treasured ephod (22:20-23, 23:6), the high priest’s vest which displayed
twelve precious stones representing the tribes of Israel and carried in two
pockets the sacred stones of Urim and Thummim, which were cast as lots to
discern God’s will.

David then hears that the Philistines have attacked Keilah (ca. 3 miles S
of Adullam), to rob its threshing floors of harvested grain. Even though a
rescue mission would be very dangerous,3 David inquires
of the Lord as to whether he should go and save the Israelites there. Since
his men are fearful of being in Judah and of the Philistines, David inquires
of the Lord twice – but God answers “Go … save Keilah,”
and then “I will give the Philistines into your hand” (23:1-6,
NRSV). So, even though David is not yet king, he takes up the task of defending
God’s people.4 However, after rescuing the Keilahites,
some there treacherously reported David’s whereabouts to Saul, who then
“summoned all the people to war” against David (23:7-8). When
this was told to David, he gathered together his band now numbering some 600
men and they set off, “wandering wherever they could go” (23:9-13).
Finally, they reached the Wilderness of Ziph (ca. 13 miles to the SE) with
its “strongholds” (23:14) of barren peaks and rock formations,
a place where David and his men could both hide out and watch the horizon.5
Ziph was a town located in the easternmost part of the Judean hill country,
which then sloped down to the barren Dead Sea region.6
In a larger sense, David’s whole life during this period, after he went
on the lam, is summarized in v. 14:7 “David stayed
in the desert, in the strongholds [and] in the mountains … [while] Saul
kept looking for him day after day” (NJB).

Jonathan’s
surprise visit – In spite of the Lord’s protection, David
is still fearful, seeing how Saul relentlessly searches for him (23:15).8
As Walter Brueggemann notes, “Saul will pursue David to the edge of
his realm, to the end of I Samuel, to the end of his own life. Indeed, Saul
now has no other purpose than the elimination of David.”9
David’s miraculous success against the Philistines should have shown
him that God was with him – and indeed the two talk as good friends,
with an easy trust on David’s part (23:10-12). David escapes Saul’s
hand, not because he is faster or more clever than the king, but because Yahweh
keeps intervening. Yet still, David cannot help but worry. Then, lo and behold,
who should show up, but Jonathan10 – his dear
Jonathan, who loves him so much and is his dearest friend. The irony here,
of course, is Saul and his troops cannot locate David, but Jonathan has no
difficulty.11 Yet how did Jonathan make this journey
and manage to slip away without his father’s knowledge? Also, what do
you suppose was the response of David’s men when they saw the king’s
son suddenly walk into camp?12 Yet Jonathan has come,
knowing he might be killed by some of David’s guards or later by his
father if he found out about this stealth visit and who once before had ordered
his execution, although unsuccessfully (1 Sam 14:44). He bravely made his
way over from his father’s camp, unobserved in the rough territory13
and perhaps under the cover of darkness. Whatever the hour, he came through
the Lord’s leading and just at the right time, “to strengthen
the hand” of David (23:16). This Hebrew phrase in the OT generally
meant “to encourage,” especially the fearful.14
Later, when enemies gathered to try to discourage Nehemiah and the Jews from
rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, the governor (Nehemiah) prayed, “O
God, strengthen my hands” (Neh 6:9, KJV), “give me strength”
(CEV). Other translations of this phrase in 1 Sam 23:16 read, Jonathan “gave
[David] fresh courage in God’s name” (REB 1989), “helped
him find strength in God” (NIV 1978), and “encouraged
him in his faith in God” (LB 1976).

Jonathan
tells David quietly, “Don’t be afraid” (23:17a, CEV). He
should not fear the future but keep his faith strong in the Almighty (Elohim).
Then Jonathan gives David four reasons for doing this:15“Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall not
find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my
father Saul also knows that this is so.” (1 Sam 23:17, NRSV)
(1) Saul will never find David, no matter how hard he tries. Although
God is not mentioned in v. 17, he is the “reason” behind what
is stated and foreseen here. Yahweh will guarantee what he has destined.16
David need not fear because God’s gracious and providential care
rests upon him.17 The “hand of Saul” will
never be able to find David, even though Jonathan found his way with
apparent ease to come check on him. (2) David will become king
over all Israel. Moreover, Jonathan tells David, “You [emphatic
in the Hebrew] will be king” and “I [emphatic] will be second
to you.”18 Earlier, in their long conversation
(20:1-23), Jonathan only implied in general terms that David would someday
be the man in power (v. 13b-15); now he says outright that David will be king.19

(3)
Jonathan promises to support David and be by his side. – The
Hebrew says literally, “and I [Jonathan] shall
be to you [David] for second [mishneh]…”
(23:17c, J. Green). Strong’s lexicon notes that mishneh
(#4932) refers to “a repetition, duplicate, or double, or (by implication)
a second in rank.” Esther 10:3 notes how Mordecai was made “second
[mishneh] to King Ahasuerus [Xerxes I of Persia]”
(J. Green), or “next” to him (KJV). Kyle McCarter
points out that by the reign of Ahaz (king of Judah, some 275 years later)
mishneh had become a formal title, for 2 Chron
28:7 speaks of “the king’s Second-in-Command [mishne
hammelek]” along with the Crown Prince (ben-hammelek),
and the Minister of the (Royal) Household (negid habbayit).20
J.P. Fokkelman suggests that Jonathan envisioned himself serving David in
the new regime as a kind of “vizier” (minister of state),21
Robert Alter as a “viceroy” (deputy second-in-command).22
Still, as Peter Miscall points out, it should be remembered that mishneh
can also mean “double” or “copy, [one’s] equal”23
– and this is the first meaning given in Brown’s and Strong’s
lexicons.24 Perhaps it was not a high, front office
that Jonathan really wanted, but rather to stand beside his beloved, to continue
to encourage him, give him advice, watch out for his safety, and help him
in other personal ways that could fulfill him and support him in becoming
a great king over God’s people.

(4)
Even Saul knows that this is so. – Finally, Jonathan says poignantly,
Saul also knows, in his heart of hearts, what will be. Brueggemann notes,
“He knows, but he cannot yet publicly concede. … Saul knows but
he cannot yet admit it to himself” or accept that fact that David will
succeed him to the throne. He must still cling to his “flimsy grasp
on power and on the future.” Meanwhile, “the chase must continue.”25
Fokkelman notes how twice Jonathan refers here to Saul “my father”
(v. 17), suggesting that although he loves David so much, he still feels a
strong paternal connection. Perhaps he still leaves “the door to reconciliation
open,” hoping that “Saul will change” (although he won’t).
Then, as the dutiful and faithful son that he is, Jonathan would “not
need to break with Saul just because he loves David.”26
Interestingly (and sadly), had Jonathan decided at this point to throw his
support fully behind David, remain with him, and never return to his father’s
court, he would have been spared his tragic death in battle on Mount Gilboa
(31:2) and would have lived perhaps to see his vision for the future come
to pass, with David and himself serving Israel as leaders and lovers. A gay
or bisexual king is no more incredible than one who collected 1,000 wives
and other sexual partners (Solomon, 1 Kings 11:3)! Still, Jonathan cannot
let go of his father and family and the past. Some might want to judge Jonathan
on this account, for his holding back, yet it is difficult in our modern age
to appreciate the ties of duty and honor that bound a son to his father in
ancient Israel. As Leslie Hunt notes, in OT times family life was father-centered
and all those included in the larger family unit were ruled by the authority
of the father, who held the power even to sacrifice them if he so desired.
Moreover, the family provided the basis for social structure.27
It is very different today, when children often move far away from their parents,
to begin fully separated and independent lives. However, the statement “Saul
also knows that this is so” is interesting because it would
seem grammatically to apply to the whole preceding compound statement –
implying that Saul not only senses that David will someday be king, but that
Jonathan also will someday desert him to support David. “Then
the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; David remained at Horesh,
and Jonathan went home.” (23:18, NRSV).28

The
companions’ three covenants – So the Bible records three pacts
that Jonathan and David made. The first covenant was made very shortly
after they met. In 1 Sam 18:3-4 (NRSV), we read: “Then Jonathan
made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul [NIV:
‘as himself,’ nephesh]. Jonathan stripped himself
of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor [NIV,
REB: ‘tunic’], and even his sword and his bow and his
belt.” The preceding verses relate how after David had finished
speaking with Saul, “the soul [nephesh] of
Jonathan was bound [qashar] to the soul [nephesh]
of David, and Jonathan loved [aheb] him as his own
soul” (v. 1); and after this, Saul would not let David return home (v.
2). The emphasis here clearly is on the intense love Jonathan felt for David,
expressed through the combined and repeated use of “loved,” “bound
[to]” (this used only once), and nephesh, which indicates the
extent of Jonathan’s love (as compelling as the love and interest one
has toward oneself). Jonathan’s attraction to David appears in the narrative
“like a bolt out of the blue”29 –
spontaneous, intense, and earth-shattering for him. He expresses this love
then by the giving to David all of the clothes he was wearing and all of the
weapons he was carrying, the significance of which has been debated but which
surely represented, as Hans Hertzberg explains, the “giving away [of]
one’s own self,”30 i.e. the giving of his
whole heart and self to David.

The
second covenant was made near the end of their time together in Gibeah
and is recorded in 1 Sam 20:16-17 (NRSV): “Thus Jonathan made
a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the Lord seek out the
enemies of David.’ Jonathan made David swear again, by his love
for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life.”
(1 Sam 20:16-17, NRSV, italics added). Here, in contrast to the first pact,
we are told something specific about what was said and sworn – which
now includes both amorous and political elements. Yet the phrase “Jonathan
made David swear again” is difficult; and there has been disagreement
among interpreters as to who is swearing here, whether Jonathan or David.
This is because the standard Hebrew (Masoretic) text reads “So
again Jonathan caused David to swear…” while
some important Septuagint sources (LXXL,B)31 suggest
that the original read “So again Jonathan swore to
David” (italics added in both cases).32
“Again” is a key word here. Kyle McCarter holds that since David
has not yet sworn anything (at least that is noted in the text), the preferable
reading is “Jonathan swore to David out of his love for him…”33
English translations are split on the matter. About half stay with Hebrew
version, having David swear (KJV 1611; Lamsa 1933; RSV 1946; NASB 1960; Hertzberg
1964, p. 169; Amplified Bible 1965; LB 1976; NIV 1978; NKJV 1982; Green, J.,
1986; CEV 1995). For example, the GNB (1983) reads, “Jonathan
made David promise to love him…” The other half hold
to the Septuagint version, having Jonathan swear (Thomson 1808; Brenton 1851;
Moffatt 1926; Knox 1948; JB 1966; NEB 1970; Ackroyd 1971, p. 162; McCarter
1980, p. 333; Klein 1983, p. 202; REB 1989; NAB 1995; NJB 1998). For example,
Peterson (2002) reads, “Jonathan repeated his pledge of love
and friendship for David...” Overall, the textual evidence
and larger context seem tilted toward the latter meaning, of Jonathan reaffirming
his love to David. At least, we know there was some swearing of oath on both
sides here, since 20:42 (NRSV) records, “Then Jonathan said
to David, ‘Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in the name of the
Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my descendents
and your descendents, forever.’” Still, the repetition
of aheb/ahaba (“love/loved”) and of
nephesh (“as [much as] his own life”)
in 20:17 points to this pact having homoeroticized elements as well as political
elements,34 although the same-sex content again is kept
mostly hidden.

The
third covenant was probably made several years later and is noted in
1 Sam 23:18 (NRSV): “Then the two of them made a covenant before
the Lord…” Of course, this verse is tied to the preceding
verse; and this covenant surely recognized both that David would become king
and that Jonathan would support him and stand by his side in the new reign.
Walter Breuggemann writes that the two friends covenant again “because
such mutual promises [of loyal love] cannot be reiterated too often”
among friends.35 Marti Stuessy feels that Jonathan keeps
making covenants with David because on some level he questions David’s
commitment.36 However, J.P. Fokkelman notes that the
pact made in 23:18 is not merely “a simple extension or re-confirmation
of the [earlier] pact” described in 1 Sam 20, for the later pact looks
deeper into the future and “lays down the work distribution and relationship
which is the centre of everything.”37 The third
pact is best understood as a “fresh, bilateral covenant defining their
new relationship.”38 In fact, each of the three
pacts, while containing a common core of expressed love and commitment, seems
to differ from what was pledged before, and so advances in content and adds
detail. Although “love” is not mentioned specifically in the third
covenant, this surely was the driving force that led the prince to make his
perilous journey to see David and was the motivation behind his wanting to
serve by David’s side in the new regime, as a kind of helpmate. Nevertheless,
the lives of Jonathan and David are like those of most of us: wonderful loving
relationships often appear quite unexpectedly in life, to thrill the heart
(and the body) with pure delight; yet, at the same time, there remain those
dreams that seem destined to die on the vine.